Birmingham, Ala.(WVTM)---Craig Bickley was hired Tuesday as the Birmingham City School district's new human resources director. But the board quickly changed it's mind about hiring Bickley after learning what had happened at some of his previous positions.
The hiring and resignation of Bickley was called a "regrettable situation" by the vice president of the Birmingham Board of Education. A self-employed human resources consultant, Bickley's experience included short stints at two of his previous employers, something some board members would have liked to have known before voting to hire him Tuesday. The details of what happened in those positions weren't listed at today's called board meeting, but it was enough for board members to accept Bickley's resignation, three days after it hired him. According to one board member, this situation has put a strain on the relationship between the board and the superintendent, as the superintendent pledges to review his hiring process.
District 5 Board Member, Emanuel Ford said, "The personnel file needs to be available to board members so we may review the personnel file and I think if we had a had that opportunity, this wouldn't have happened."
Superintendent, Dr. Craig Witherspoon said, "We will go back and review our processes and make sure we find the most qualified individual to run our human resources division."
Dr. Witherspoon said, four to six candidates were interviewed for this position. He told board members, Bickley was the best candidate for HR director, a position that has been vacant for eleven months.
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